Four officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) on June 22 demonstrated a high sense of patriotism and commitment to the service when they defied rains that poured heavily along the Bolgatanga-Navrongo highway, to perform duties at a checkpoint near Kandiga junction.
Unlike everyone else, including personnel of other security services along that highway who sought shelter in structures close by, the four officers continued with their work unperturbed by the lashes that accompanied the hefty raindrops.
Even more interesting was how the officers ignored an available shelter on the other side of the road and carried on with their duties.
One vehicle after the other, the officers, whose identities remain unknown, led by a senior colleague thoroughly searched to ensure that foreigners and unlawful materials which infiltrate the border to that point are arrested.
The spectacular commitment demonstrated by the officers impressed a lot of road users.
GhanaWeb’s Upper East Correspondent, Senyalah Castro, who was returning home around 5:46 pm after covering President Akufo-Addo’s one-day working visit to the Upper East Region, observed the gallant officers from a distance. He reports that they were drenched by the rain which poured heavily for close to two hours.
He noted that the officers declined to speak when he approached them, but he got the information that they were deployed from the Paga Sector Command.
Presence of security services curb robberies
Last year, GhanaWeb reported how the presence of the security agencies, including the Ghana Armed Forces, Immigration and Police Services, along the highway greatly helped curb the activities of armed robbery.
Prior to the positioning of the checkpoints, armed robbers lurked at some spots along the highway to terrorise and rob road users.
Despite the efforts by the security services to ensure the safety of the public, there are some challenges weakening the feat. It is gathered that the agencies have difficulties in transporting their personnel to the checkpoints daily.
The agencies also lack logistics such as vehicles, motorbikes, protective gears and even the standard checkpoint equipment.
